Alexei Kudrin proposes to “streamline government”

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Kommersant

The head of CSR presented its strategy for young economists

On the first place among the necessary in-country reforms, the head of the Center for strategic research (CSR) Alexei Kudrin put the changes in the system of public administration. On Tuesday, he told the young economists developed the CSR strategy of development of the country 2018-2024 years. According to him, Russian citizens trust the government even more than in the US, however, confidence is still low and “the government must be something to do with it”.

“Efficiency and the number of functions that took the state do not meet the challenges of the modern economy. We need to streamline government, make it more effective. The main challenge facing Russia in the coming years, the loss of the status of technological power,”— said the head of CSR, noting that this will entail a total economic backlog of the country from all over the world. He stressed that corruption in Russia can be defeated, creating a new system of governance when the footage is “I will not say what look after each other and work in teams on the final result, not each in their own pocket.”

According to Mr. Kudrin, the goal should be doubled to reduce the number of control functions of the state at the Federal level by 2024, i.e. by the end of next presidential term. While the share of government in the economy during the same period is expected to decline by 1.3 times. “The number of functions of the state grows with each adopted law and the economy — no,”— said Kudrin. According to him, in 2003, the state had 5.3 thousand features, in 2010-m — 7.1 thousand, in 2016 — 10.4 thousand Recall that part of the growth of state functions occurred at the time of Alexei Kudrin in the government (from late 1999 to September 2011).

An important place in the strategy is paid to the development of entrepreneurial initiatives, which have in many areas come to the place of the state. Alexei Kudrin emphasised this to the attention of 1 thousand of young economists and entrepreneurs to whom spoke in youth educational camp “Territory” on the Klyazma. We will remind, the camp was established in 2015 by the initiative of the presidential administration. This week, as reported by “Kommersant”, his first visit of the first Deputy head of the AP Sergei Kiriyenko. Shift economists oversees CSR, HSE, Sberbank and VTB.

The head of CSR linked to the low level of entrepreneurial initiative among the Russians (only 6% of citizens — entrepreneurs) with the low trust of citizens to each other and the government. “Low trust is an additional tax on any transaction even at a relatively low tax burden entrepreneurs “pay” too much”,— said Kudrin.

The theme of trust, he raises for the first time. Recall that at the Gaidar forum in January 2017, the head of CSR said that “we have high confidence in the President, but if we view the credibility of institutions such as government, Parliament, police, a separate Ministry, it is below 25 to 30% and even 15%. At such a low confidence in the major institutions of power is very difficult to carry out reforms”.

According to CSR — analysis of studies VTsIOM (2016), INP (2017), Eurobarometer (2016), Pew Research Center (2016-2017), East-Asian Barometer (2016), Edelman Trust Barometr (2017) indicators of the level of trust of Russians to the government and each other account for 22% and 21%, respectively, whereas in Germany — 51/39%, China — 72/59%, Singapore 69/41%. And in the US high level of interpersonal trust — 47%, while trust in government is even lower than in Russia,— 20% and 21%.

The head of the Fund “Public opinion” (FOM) Alexander Oslon confirmed that the FOM examines the level of interpersonal trust for ten years and it remains low (about 20%), with no increases nor decreases. At the same time, Mr. Oslon believes that entrepreneurs in the first place interfere with “other factors, such as the torments to which they were doomed in part by the Ministry of Finance”. “Rather, disagree” with a direct link between the level of trust and entrepreneurship, the head of “OPORA Russia” Alexander Kalinin. He also made in the camp “Territory”, but to comment in detail on the thesis of Mr. Kudrin did not, citing the fact that he had more to read them.

Political analyst Alexei Zudin, who participated in writing the program “United Russia” (program Committee headed by the Chairman of the party, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev), said that interpersonal trust plays an important role “in reviving the economy in many areas, as well as the stability of political institutions.” Just this, according to Mr. Zudin, a role the government can play, “consciously modernizing the economy and society”, and “not thus, when, in addition to corruption, nothing is impossible”. Alexey Kudrin acknowledged that change “is not possible without political will, a great effort on the part of the President and the government”. According to him, additional measures are needed to increase confidence in the government, it “must be something to do with it”, “demonstrate that he can fulfill his promises”. The interlocutor of “Kommersant” in the White house agreed with the assessment of CSR: “the Government must justify the trust.”

Irina Nagornykh

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